Future: Genomics Research

Dr. J. Craig Venter has made numerous contributions to genomics – from ESTS and the first genome of a living species, to the human genome and environmental genomics, to constructing the first synthetic bacterial cell.

Future: Genome Research

Prof. David Botstein has been the intellectual leader of genomics since its inception, championing the Human Genome Project and devising microarrays to exploit genome information for the global assessment of gene expression.

Future: Genome Research

Prof. Eric Lander is a professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, a former member of the Whitehead Institute, and the founding director of the Broad Institute.

Past: History/Biography

The Rt. Hon. Sir Martin Gilbert was a leading historian of the modern world and the official biographer of Winston Churchill.

Past: History/Biography

Dr. Robert Conquest, British historian and renowned writer and researcher of the Soviet Union; Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities.

Present: Plastic Arts

William Kentridge is an internationally renowned artist whose work deals with poignant political issues of his native South Africa.

Present: Cinema and Society

Brother Joel and Ethan Coen have written, directed, produced, edited and occasionally served as cinematographers on a highly acclaimed list of films.

Future: Aging - Facing the Challenge

Cynthia Kenyon is a molecular biologist and biogerontologist known for her genetic dissection of aging in a widely used model organism, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans.

Future: Aging - Facing the Challenge

ary Ruvkun made a major contribution to the future of human health with the discovery of conserved hormonal signaling pathways with universal influence on animal aging.

Past: Evolution

Prof. Feldman produced conceptual results of broad interest in the domain of animal and plant evolution. His work has led to highly focused insights of cultural significance such as the out-of-Africa model of human evolution and cultural preferences in different civilizations.

Present: Literature - Rendition of the 20th Century

Amitav Ghosh is an lndian-Bengali novelist whose work offers a panoramic treatment of 20th Century history from a postcolonial perspective.

Past: March Toward Democracy

Giorgio Napolitano is known for his dedication to the cause of Parliamentary democracy and his contribution to the rapprochement between the Italian Left and European Socialism.